The US aviation regulator has blamed a damaged database file for the failure of a critical flight safety system that prompted it to halt all domestic departures for two hours on Wednesday. The FAA ordered the rare shutdown of domestic air traffic after a failure of the so-called Notice to Air Missions system, which provides real-time information about potential hazards to pilots and crew members. More than 1,300 flights to or from US airports had been cancelled and about 9,500 were delayed by 6:30pm Eastern time, nearly 12 hours after the FAA ordered the halt, according to data from flight tracking website FlightAware. The FAA said in a Twitter post just before 9am ET that it was resuming normal flight schedules. The agency said Wednesday evening that while a preliminary investigation had traced the outage to a damaged file, it was “working diligently to further pinpoint the causes of this issue”. It also said there was no evidence of a cyber attack. The agency ordered the rare “ground stop” just after 7am ET as it struggled to restore the critical safety system. But it stressed that flights in the air were safe to land. A widespread ban on all flight departures is highly unusual. The longest previous example followed the September 11 2001 terror attacks, in which aircraft were used to destroy New York City’s World Trade Center. The problems come less than a month after bad weather triggered mass disruption and thousands of flight cancellations. US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Wednesday morning he had been “in touch” with the FAA about the system outage. After its restoration and the lifting of the flight halt, he said on Twitter he had “directed an after-action process to determine root causes and recommend next steps”.<br/>
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The acting head of the FAA is cancelling a planned trip to Mexico Thursday that was to review progress on Mexico's plan to recover a coveted air safety rating, the agency said Wednesday. Reuters reported in December FAA chief Billy Nolen's planned visit to the country after its U.S.-issued safety rating was downgraded in 2021. Nolen is cancelling the trip after an FAA computer issue Wednesday forced a 90-minute nationwide ground stop for departures disrupting thousands of flights.<br/>
The US aviation sector was struggling to return to normal on Wednesday following a nationwide ground stop imposed by the FAA over a computer issue that forced a 90-minute halt to all US departing flights. Almost 9,600 flights have been delayed so far and over 1,300 canceled, according to FlightAware, in the first national grounding of flights in about two decades. Many industry officials compared the grounding to what occurred after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The total number of flights disrupted topped 10,900 and was still rising but airline officials expressed confidence that normal operations could largely return by Thursday. Major carriers like Southwest, United, Delta and American Airlines all reported 40% or more of flights Wednesday delayed or canceled. FAA officials said a preliminary review traced the outage to a damaged database file, but added there was no evidence of a cyberattack and the investigation was continuing. The same file corrupted both the main system and its backup, said people familiar with the review, who asked not to be identified. FAA officials said they were working to "further pinpoint the causes" so the problem can be avoided in the future. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN the ground stop was the "right call" to make sure messages were getting sent correctly and there was no direct evidence of cyberattack. The White House said President Joe Biden still had confidence in Buttigieg.<br/>
The breakdown of a key computer system, which resulted in the suspension of US flight departures on Wednesday, is not the first such issue to hinder FAA operations, and happened amid efforts to upgrade technology. The 90-minute halt, which was caused by a problem with an alerting system that sends safety messages for pilots and others, occurred less than two weeks after a different critical air-traffic control system caused flight delays at major airports in Florida. The latest glitch disrupted more than 11,000 flights on Wednesday. The FAA has struggled to modernize some long-standing parts of air traffic control. A 2021 Transportation Department Office of Inspection General (OIG) report repeatedly cited challenges in the FAA's multi-billion dollar Next Generation Air Transportation System (Next) infrastructure project. The OIG said its work "has shown that FAA has struggled to integrate key NextGen technologies and capabilities due to extended program delays that caused ripple effect delays with other programs." In October, for example, the FAA said it was working to end a long-ridiculed, decades-old practice of air traffic controllers using paper flight strips to keep track of aircraft. But adopting the change at 49 major airports will take the FAA until late 2029. The FAA has also been trying to modernize the Notices to Air Missions (NOTAM) system "to improve the delivery of safety critical information to aviation stakeholders," according to its website. The system provides pilots, flight crews, and other users of U.S. airspace with relevant, timely and accurate safety notices.<br/>
Tens of thousands of flights were delayed or canceled around Christmas when frigid weather and storms made travel treacherous. But the weather was mostly fine on Wednesday morning when flights across the country were halted because the FAA’s system to alert pilots to safety issues went down. The FAA said Wednesday night that it had traced the outage to a damaged database file and that there was no evidence that it was caused by a cyberattack. The disruption was the latest example of serious problems in the aviation system and at the FAA, the agency responsible for safely managing all commercial air traffic that critics say has long been overworked and underfunded. The pause on flights across the country highlighted what aviation experts say are glaring weaknesses at the agency, long considered the world’s premier aviation regulator. The FAA has struggled to quickly update systems and processes, many of which were put in place decades ago, to keep up with technological advancements and a sharp increase in the number of flights and passengers. Problems with the system used to notify pilots of hazards in the air and ground began on Tuesday night, forcing officials to reboot the system early Wednesday morning. To fix the problem, the FAA ordered airlines to delay all departing flights just before 7:30 a.m. That pause was lifted at about 9 a.m., but the disruption was far from over as airlines struggled to get back to normal throughout the day. Delays cascaded throughout the system and, by the afternoon, about 9,000 flights had been delayed and 1,300 had been canceled. Just two weeks earlier, hundreds of thousands of travelers were stranded by an operational meltdown at Southwest Airlines, the country’s largest carrier by number of passengers. Taken together, the two episodes underscore the fragility of the nation’s aviation system.<br/>
Canada’s aviation system was briefly hit with a computer outage just hours after issues with the same system forced the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration to bring air traffic to a standstill across the country. However, Canadian officials say they do not believe the cause of the outages are related. “NAV CANADA’s Canadian NOTAM entry system experienced an outage affecting newly issued NOTAMs at approximately 10:20 a.m. ET and was restored approximately at 1:15 p.m. Mitigations were in place to support continued operations,” said Vanessa Adams, a spokesperson for NAV Canada, in an emailed statement. “We are still investigating the root cause of the failure. At this time, we do not believe the cause is related to the FAA outage experienced earlier today.” Flights in the US are “gradually” resuming following the outage, and NAV Canada said on Twitter that the outage hitting Canadian systems did not cause any delays. Less than two hours after announcing the outage, which NAV Canada said was affecting “newly issued NOTAMs,” the organization confirmed the system had been “restored.” Airlines delayed or canceled more than 10,000 US flights on Wednesday after all planes were grounded nationwide for 90 minutes. In the wake of the US outage Wednesday morning, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said he is “following” the situation as it progresses.<br/>
Several flights from Madrid airport to the United States were delayed on Wednesday morning, according to information released on the website of Aena, which operates the airport. The US FAA said on Wednesday it was working to restore a system that alerts pilots to hazards and changes to airport facilities and procedures that had stopped processing updated information. The glitch led to hundreds of flight delays in the United States. Flights by a range of operators, including American Airlines, were showing as delayed by up to several hours to Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, and New York, according to Aena's website. An American Airlines flight from Barcelona to Miami due to depart at 11:00 a.m (1000 GMT) was also delayed until 13:50 p.m., Aena's website flight data showed. Reuters was not able to immediately confirm the reason for the delays, though American Airlines said on its Twitter account it was working with the FAA to minimise customer disruptions related to the system outage. Flights operated by Iberia, the Spanish airline of International Consolidated Airlines Group, were unaffected, the airline said, as it can operate with an alternative system.<br/>
Paris international airports expect flight delays due to a US FAA system outage, a spokeswoman for Aeroports de Paris (ADP) said on Wednesday. “We have been informed of a technical incident. At this stage there have been no flight cancellations but some delays are to be expected,” she said. ADP operates Paris Charles de Gaulle aiport and Orly airport. Separately, an Air France spokesman said the airline is currently operating its flight schedule to and from the United States as normal, but continues to monitor the situation closely. <br/>
The Biden administration said on Wednesday it has lifted restrictions imposed in October that redirected U.S.-bound travelers who had been to Uganda within the previous 21 days to five major American airports to be screened for Ebola. The Department of Homeland Security said as of late November there have been no new confirmed Ebola disease cases reported in Uganda and two 21-day incubation periods have passed and the restrictions were no longer necessary.<br/>
China’s outbound flight bookings were at only 15% of pre-pandemic levels in the week after the country announced it would reopen its borders, despite a 192% jump from the same period last year, travel data firm ForwardKeys said on Thursday. Low airline capacity, high air fares, new pre-flight COVID-19 testing requirements by many countries and a backlog of passport and visa applications pose challenges as the industry looks to recovery, ForwardKeys Vice President Insights Olivier Ponti said. “Although Chinese New Year is likely to see international travel rebound for the first time in three years, we will need to wait longer before we see a resurgence in Chinese tourists exploring the globe,” he added. Some online travel agencies had touted multi-fold surges in searches and bookings since the Dec. 26 border announcement but did not provide data that compares the level of interest to 2019. ForwardKeys data shows that average outbound fares from China were 160% higher than 2019 in December, though that represented a downward trend since June when flight capacity was even lower and quarantine was required. Airlines are running only 11% of pre-pandemic international capacity to and from China in January, according to Cirium, though the figure is expected to rise to around 25% by April based in current data. An official at China’s aviation regulator forecast the international market could recover to around 80% of 2019 capacity levels by the end of the year, China Daily reported on Thursday. Ponti said his firm expected the Chinese outbound market would pick up strongly in the second quarter when airlines schedule capacity for spring and summer, which includes the May holiday, Dragon Boat festival in June and summer holidays.<br/>
Negative COVID-19 tests will be required for people travelling by air from China to Cyprus from Jan. 15, the island's health ministry said on Wednesday. The EU's Integrated Political Crisis Response group (IPCR) last week recommended that member states introduce requirements on air travellers from China as the country prepared to ease travel restrictions despite a wave of new COVID infections. Travellers will need to show a negative PCR test taken 48 hours before arrival, the Cypriot ministry said. In line with EU recommendations, authorities would also introduce testing on wastewater in airports and on aircraft, it said.<br/>
Standard Chartered is considering a sale, among several options, of its aviation unit, which according to an industry publication owns a fleet worth around $3.7b. The UK-headquartered bank said on Wednesday the aircraft leasing business represented around 2% of its group income. The unit, based in Ireland, owns and manages more than 120 planes on lease to 30 airlines, according to its website. "We believe that a new owner can drive the next phase of growth whilst we continue to focus on our commitment to improve shareholder returns and delivering on our 2024 targets," Simon Cooper, CEO of StanChart's corporate, commercial & institutional banking business, said in a statement. StanChart's aviation financing business was ranked as the 21st biggest lessor based on the $3.7b market value of its fleet in publisher Airfinance Journal's 2022 rankings. The news of the deal comes at a time of heightened interest in StanChart's strategy and future, after United Arab Emirate-based First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) said on Jan. 5 it had considered, but ultimately abandoned, a takeover bid. The news sent StanChart shares up as much as 20% on the day and revived takeover speculation for the bank, which for decades has been seen as ripe for consolidation thanks to its low valuation and access to fast-growing markets in Asia.<br/>
KKR & Co. will invest $1.15b in leased commercial aircraft through its partnership with aviation finance firm Altavair. The bet on air travel, made through KKR’s credit and infrastructure funds, adds to the roughly $8.3b that the alternative-asset manager has put into the aviation sector since 2015. KKR owns about 50% of Altavair. The investment “underscores the conviction that we have in this space and our confidence in Altavair as a partner,” said Dan Pietrzak, KKR’s co-head of private credit. Aviation finance provides stable, collateral-backed cash flow and is particularly attractive as the pandemic’s effects on the travel industry diminish, Pietrzak said in an interview. KKR is targeting double-digit returns across its portfolio of aviation-leasing assets. KKR’s previous investments in the sector include AV AirFinance, Atlantic Aviation, KKR DVB Aviation Capital, K2 Aviation, Wheels Up, Global Jet Capital and Jet Edge, according to the statement.<br/>